Apparatus for the liquid treatment of running filamentary materials



Nov. 23, 1954 s, ROBERTS 2,694,912

APPARATUS FOR THE LIQUID TREATMENT OF RUNNING FILAMENTARY MATERIALS Filed Sept. 2, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet l JNVENTOR. INGHAM 5. ROBER T6 NOV. 23, 1954 5, ROBERTS 2,694,912

APPARATUS FOR THE LIQUID TREATMENT OF RUNNING FILAMENTARY MATERIALS Filed Sept. 2, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fir FE 10 INVENTOR. INGHAM S. ROBERTS 2,694,912 APPARATUS. i on LI UID "or RUNNING FILAhiENTA'RY MATERIALS rn ham s. Roberts, Ridley Pirate, a sassin American Viscose Corporation, Wilmington, Del., a corporation of Delaware Ap raiser; September 2, '194s,'saams.-41;s74 12 Claims. o. 68 -1 76) This invention relates to apparatus for liquid treatment of continuous materials, such as filaments, large denier filament bundles, yarns, cords or other strands, especially of textile types, or fabrics in rope forrn. A

I A primary object is to proyide apparatus for effecting repeated immersion of therunnin g material in a body of treating liquid, the working of thefmaterml between immersions within the portion of liquid carried out of the y, by m r a n the re ov o a l r p of the liquid from the running material after the working and in advance of the next immersion. A further object is to provide for flowing the liquid in a generally countercurrent direction relative to the running material. A further object is to provide an apparatus adapted to accomplish the above-mentioned processing system in an eflicient manner. I It is also an objectto provide an apparatus comprising a plurality of such 'processing units which is constructed so that the lacingup or other servicing of any one unit can beeasil-y accomplishedand does not interfere with the controlled distribution of liquids to the other units. Other objects and advantages ofthe invention will be apparent from the drawing and the description thereof hereinafter. I I

In the drawing, which isillustrativeof the invention- Figure 1 is a front elevation of a machine comprising a plurality of processing units in accordance with the invention, n

Figure 2 is a side elevation oftwo of the processing units, one in operating position, and one in lacing position, t

Figure 3 is a plan View of a single unit of the invention with the driving connections partially in cross section,

k Figure 4 is a front view of a modified form of an immersion trough, q j v I Figure 5 is a plan view of the immersion trough, of Fig. 4, with the bottom roller in position, 7 v

Figure 6 is a front elevation of another modification of the processing unit, 4 V q 7 w j t Figure 7 is a plan view of the immersion trough of the embodiment of Figure-6, I V

Figure 8' is a plan view of the reflux tray of the embodiment of Figure 6, v I H Figure 9 is a view of the reflux tray as seen from the right of Fig. 8, V e

Figure 10 is a view of the wiper 'bar shown in the embodiment of Figure 6, this view being that presented to an observer looking radially inwardly with respect to the bottom drum, when the bar is in position,

Figure 11 is a bottom view of the wiper bar as seen in a direction substantially tangential to the bottom drum or roller, and 1 Figure 12 is a front elevation of another modification.

Figure 1 represents the front of a portion of a machine comprising a plurality of processing units 3. Each yarn or other running material 4 to be processed passes in succession about a plurality of such units which, as shown, are staggered in a vertical direction though the units comprising aset or group over which a given yarn proceeds "may be arranged ahorizontal line or plane or 'at any desired inclination to the horizontal. Each nitcd States Patent unit comprises a pair of rolls 'or drums 5 and '6 and the axes of these rolls are inclined out of parallel so that the running material follows a generally helical path about the pair of rolls making up the unit, A number'of the units are preferably arranged in a substantially vertical row so that a common verticaldriving shaft 7 maybe provided for suchrow of units. The driving connections for a verticalrowlmay be enclosed within a protective tube or pipe 8. The Vertical plane through the center's of such vertical tubes disposed in ,a row may constitute the central plane of the machine from which theunit's are supported and project toward the working faces of the machine when such units project from opposite sides bf the tubes to provide, two similar working faces 'o'neach side of the machine. Asshown, the units supported and driven from the pipe 8 are preferably inclined out of 'the perpendicular to the vertical plane through the centers of the tubes 'at such anangl'e that the yarns discharged from the units associated with one tube pass directly to the receiving ends of the units associated with the next adjacent tube to which the yarns may next proceed. By such arrangement, it is unnecessary to provide special guides to control the running material both at the dis charge position of one unit and the receiving position "of the next unit in sequence.

The arrangement thus provides a compact machine comprising one or more groups of units, each group be ing adapted to apply a number of liquid processing treatments to a yarn or other running material.

Referring now as well to Figures 2 and 3, the driving shaft 7 drives a plurality of bevel gears 9 which mesh with bevel pinions 10 and 10:: secured to shafts 11 and 12 respectively to which are secured the rolls Sand 6 respectively. The'shaft 11 carries the upper roll 5 of a unit and is supported within a bearing provided in a bracket 13 adapted to be bolted to the pipe 8. The bolts 14- ex tend through horizontal slots 35 in the flange 16 .of the brackets to allow the axis of roller 5 to be "adjusted to any desired angle of inclination relative to the axis of roller 6. The bracket 13 has an extension 17 for receiving a horizontal rod 18. e

The shaft 12 drives the lower roll 6 of a unit and is carried in a bearing in a bracket 19 which may .be bolted to the tube in a fixed position. The bracket 19 has an extension 20 to the upper part of which a pipe 21 is secured for support. The lower part of the bracket of the extension 20 serves as a support for the trough 21', screws or bolts 22 serving for this purpose. The rod 213 i'sf'supported on a similar extension 29' from the other side of the flange or bracket 19. i

The rods 18 and 23 serve as supporting means for a guard 24 which may have an inside configuration generally conforming to the path of theyarns or other run- 'nin'g material but of somewhat larger inside dimensions to leave. a clearance between the courses of material and the inside surface of the guard. The guard member 24 has horizontally extending ridges 25, 26 and 27 to provide guideways within which rods 23 and 18 are received. The guard 24 is thus slidable in a general direction parallel to the axis of the rolls 5 and 6 from the processing position shown in connection with the upper unit of F igure 2, to the lacing position shown in the lower unit of Figure 2. A notch or recess 28 is provided to permit discharge ,of the runningmaterial from the roll 5? and a slot 29 is provided to permit the entrance of the runhing material into the unit adjacent the roll 5. A strip 30 of a hard substance having a smooth surface, such as glass, glazed porcelain, or the like, may be provided to guide and determine the position taken by the running material as it is received on roll 5.

The drain trough 21 is provided with an outlet connection 31 adapted to be attached to a discharge conduit not shown. e

An immersion trough 32 is provided for the lo'wer r'oller'6. This trough has an arcuate bottom, substantially concentric with the drum 6 during the processing, a back Wall 33 and a front wall 34. The upper edge of the front wall 34 is arcuate so that after a limited swinging, such as to the position shown in the lowermost unit of Figure 1, there will be a clearance between the upper edge of the front wall and the roll 6 in order to permit the sliding of the immersion trough into the retracted position shown more clearly in the bottom unit of Figure 2. With the trough in this position and the guard 24 in retracted position, both rolls and 6 have their outer ends exposed so that an operator may easily lace the leading end of the running material about the exposed ends of rolls 5 and 6 of the unit. The immersion trough receives its chief support from a liquid feed pipe 21 in which a feed connection 35 is fitted. The feed connection 35 is connected by a conduit (not shown) to a suitable source of liquid for the processing, and the feed from this source may be controlled in any conventional fashion, if desired, so as to distribute the proper amounts to the several units of the machine. A rotatable cock 36 may be provided within the pipe 21 and the discharge from the pipe 21 is effected through the radial bore 37, the end 38 of the pipe 21 being closed. The immersion trough 32 has secured to it or made integral with it a sleeve 40 having a sliding fit upon the outer end of pipe 21, and the sleeve 40 has a slot 41 therein having a length corresponding to the length of the feed chamber 42 formed between the outer wall 43 and a weir 44 provided at the upper end of the immersion trough 34. The width of the slot 41 extends arcuately about the sleeve 40 a suflicient distance to allow the immersion trough 32 and the sleeve 40 to be swung from its processing positionto the lacing position without interfering with the flow of liquid through the bore 37. The length of the slot and the length of the feeding chamber 42 are also such as to allow the immersion trough with the sleeve to be shifted from its processing position to its retracted position without interfering with the flow through bore 37.

This liquid feeding arrangement assures that the flow of liquid to operating units from a common distributing source can be effected continuously and without disturbance of the rate of flow even when one or more of the units is being laced. The shifting of the immersion trough to retracted position does not stop the flow or vary the conditions of flow.

Means is provided beneath the immersion trough 34 for supporting it in its processing position and means is provided for limiting the swinging of the immersion trough when it is to be moved into lacing position in order to prevent loss of liquid. As shown, this means comprises the projection 45 which has a rib 46 terminating in a notched shoulder 47. In processing position, recess 47 is caught on top of the front edge of trough 21. In order to shift the immersion trough to lacing position, it is merely necessary to lift it slightly to disengage the notch 47 from the edge of drain trough 21 and then push the trough 32 back sufficiently to displace the rib 46 out of alignment with the edge of trough 21, after which the trough 32 is swung downwardly until the upper edge of the front face 34 clears the bottom of roll 6, and then the trough 32 is shifted back to its retracted position shown at the bottom of Figure 2.

The weir 44 terminates in a forward edge 44' (see Figure 2) spaced from the inner face of the front wall 34 of the immersion trough so as to provide an overflow opening 44" at the very front of the immersion trough 32. The back wall 33 of the immersion trough is provided with an overflow notch or weir 48.

In the preferred embodiment, the peripheral surface of roll 5 is provided with generally axial flutes. By having a smooth surface on roll 6, however, a minimum of agitation occurs as the running material passes through the immersion bath in trough 32 and the flow of the liquid generally proceeds in a countercurrent direction from the front to the back of the roll 6. As the running courses of yarn or of other material leave roll 6 and pass upwardly to roll 5, they carry a portion of the liquid along with them, each course carrying its own quota. As these courses of material, loaded with a predetermined amount of the liquid, reach the upper roll, the fluted surface thereof works the material relative to the liquid. This causes further interchange between the liquid and the portions of the running material carrying the liquid over the roll 5. As the running material leaves the surface of the upper roll, the liquid which is accumulated within the grooves between the flutes is thrown outwardly by centrif ugal force. This removes a large portion of the liquid from the downwardly running material and throws the removed liquid onto the top of the bottom roll. Since the material proceeds in a helical path from the supported end of the rolls to the unsupported end thereof, and the liquid is directed along the bottom of the lower roll 6 in the opposite direction, an efficient countercurrent processing is obtained. The clearance between the material carried about the lower roll 6 and the inside surface of the bottom of the immersion trough 32 may be made quite small, say from inch down to about inch or even in some cases ,2 of an inch, the liquid is effectively used, and there is no opportunity for any portion thereof to be withheld from the general countercurrent stream and kept out of functioning relationship to the material being treated for any appreciable length of time.

The matter hereinafter described relating to Figs. 4 to 12 is the basis for claims in my copending divisional application Serial No. 386,475. In Figures 4 and 5, a modified form of immersion drum is shown. As in the embodiment of Figures 1 to 3, the bottom of the immersion trough 50 is arcuate and may generally be concentric with respect to the surface of drum 6. However, it is not necessary to maintain this concentric relationship and, as shown, it may be desirable in some cases to provide a larger clearance adjacent the side of the drum 6 toward which the surface thereof tends to force the liquid by entrainment. In this embodiment, the back wall of the immersion trough is provided with an overflow notch or weir 51 similar to that (48) of Figures 1 to 3 and similarly located. The trough 50 is also provided with a sleeve 52 slidably mounted on the supply pipe 21 and having a slot 53 co-operating with the bore 37 in pipe 21 in the same way as slot 41 in the embodiment of Figures 1 to 3. The trough 50 is also provided with a feed compartment 54 which has an opening 55 near its front lower end. The inside of the bottom of the trough 50 is provided with inwardly extending ribs 56 whose inner edges are of arcuate configuration substantially concentric with respect to the roll 6 and within to A of an inch therefrom when in processing position. In order to limit the amount of liquid carried up by the courses of the material as they leave the immersion trough, a wiping bar 57 is resiliently urged with a light pressure against the material carried by the drum by means of spring-supporting arms 58. The bottom surface 59 of the wiping bar is provided with an arcuate recess for deflecting the liquid back down to the immersion trough. The wiping face 69 of the wiper 57 may be substantially concentric with respect to drum 6, or it may have a greater radius of curvature if it is desired to allow a greater amount of liquid to be carried by the material as the courses thereof pass beyond the Wiper. The wiping surface may be a perfectly flat plane disposed tangentially to the drum or inclined either way from the tangential position, dependmg upon whether more or less liquid is desired upon the courses of material passing beyond the wiper. Vertical baflies 61 may extend inwardly from the back and front walls of the immersion trough 50 to reduce the circulation of liquid adjacent the ends of the roll 6 where such circulation is entirely unnecessary and has no processing effect upon the material carried by the drum.

In this embodiment, the ribs 56 have the important function of tending to segregate the body of liquid into parts having different purities and in contact with different axially spaced zones of roll 6. Thus, assuming that water is the processing liquid and it is used for washing impurities from the material which progresses from the back to the front of roll 6, the liquid in the foremost compartment (between the front wall and the adjacent rib 56 in the immersion trough 50) would be the purest and would be in contact with the most highly purified portion of the material, i. e., the portion that is just about to be discharged from the unit. Each compartment behind the foremost just referred to contains a liquid which is of progressively greater impurity so that the material entering the device and carrying the largest concentration of impurities comes into contact with the least pure wash water and, as it is progressively purified, it comes into contact with progressively purer water.

In Figures 6 to 11, an embodiment is shown which comprises an immersion trough 62 comprising inwardly projecting ribs 63 and a feed compartment 64 having a weir 65 similar to that of the embodiment of Figures 1 precepts to 3. In this embodiment, the guard, such as guard ofjthe embodiment of Figures l-to 3,;is omitted as the speed of 'roll 5 can be so correlated with its'diain ter and the depth of the flutes that substantially holijl'iid is thrown out from the unit, but liquid is only thrown downwardly from roll 5. A reflux tray 66 comprising a plurality of compartments separated by transverse Walls 67 is carried upon two rods 68 and 69 supported by a bracket, such as would corresp'o'r'iicfin construction to bracket 18 in the embodiment of Figures 1 to '3'. The projections 70 on the bottom of the tray rest upon the hooks 71 to which the wiper bar 72 is attached. Each compartment of the reflux tray 66 is provided with an overflow notch 73 toward the back of the tray and the side of the tray adjacent these overflow notches is pro vided with depending projections 74 which have the appearance of a sawtooth, as viewed in Figure 9. Each projection serves as a liquid-discharge means to direct the liquid flowing down it to a predetermined axial zone of the roll 6. The inclined surfaces of these projections extend backward from a position adjacent the respective overflow slot 73 with which each is associated for deflecting the liquid received from the upper roll 5 by a given compartment of the reflux tray toward the back end of the unit for the purpose of preventing the con tamination of the purer liquid in the forward compartments of the immersion trough with liquid which has been derived from portions of the material carrying a larger proportion of impurities.

The wiper bar 72 has a construction which is shown in more detail in Figures and 11. This bar comprises along one side or edge a number of projecting elements 75, the points or terminals of which are substantially in alignment with the ribs 63 in the immersion trough 62. These projections oppose the liquid carried by the drum out of the immersion bath, and the rotation of the drum causes the liquid to converge toward the indentations 76 until the mass of liquid is sufficiently bulky to cause it to flow back down the face of the drum toward the immersion trough. The Wiper bar thus tends to return liquid coming from a given compartment of the immersion trough, and applied thereby to a predetermined axial zone of the roll 6, to the same compartment.

The embodiment of Figure 6 also shows a connecting rod between the outer ends of the shafts supporting the two rolls for the purpose of providing additional bracing which is particularly advantageous when handling heavy denier bundles of yarns or fllaments or other materials having a strong tendency to shrink during the processing. This bracing comprises two rods 77 terminating in rotatable connections 78 adapted to fit about the shaft and a turnbuckle 79 making an adjustable engagement with the threaded ends of the rod 77. A latch member 80 may support the trough 62 in its upper processing position. To drop the trough to lacing position the latch is swung out of the way over its pivot 81.

In Figure 12, the unit is similar to that shown in Figures 5 to 7 except that a roller 82 bears against the yarn or tow on the lower drum 6 emerging from the trough. This presses excess liquid out and the pressure may be varied as desired, by adjusting the nut 83 on the threaded rod 84 surrounded by the spring 85. The rod 84 is pivoted at 86 and the roll bracket yoke 87 is pivoted at 88. In this embodiment, the provision of a wiper and a reflux tray as in Fig. 6 is optional but generally unnecessary.

The present invention may be employed for the processing of any material having an indefinite or continuous length such as yarns, tows, cords, and the like. It is particularly advantageous for the handling of yarns and heavy denier filament bundles, such as those having from 60,000 to 300,000 denier. A single unit may be employed for applying a single process to any particular material. On the other hand, a whole series of such units may be employed for applying successive liquids to a running material. The process and apparatus of the present invention is of special importance in the artificial filament industry, such as the rayon industry 1n which regenerated cellulose filaments are produced from viscose or cuprammonium cellulose and must be subjected to a series of liquid treating baths for completion of regeneration and purification. The present 1n vention may be employed for the application of any liquid conditioning medium to a traveling material such as a yarn, cord or the like. Thus it may be employed is. for the application of sizing to prepare yarns-fin weaving, a lubricating and/or, sizing medium for preparing yarns for knittin'g','or a twist-settingmediuin for reducing the liveliness of twist in highly twist'ed yarns such as are used inma'kir'ig crepe fabric or full-fashioned hosiery.

It will be understood that changes and variations inay tie-made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Tclaim:

1. Apparatus for treating filamentary material of indefinite flen'gth comprising a pair of spaced rolls the axes of which are canted with respect to each other, one at a higher level than the other, an immersion trough beneath the lower roll for receiving a bath of treating liquid therein, means for supporting the immersion trough in operating position with its inside surface adjacent the periphery of the bottom roll, said supporting means comprising a pivotal bearing spaced above the liquid level of the immersion trough at one side of the lower roll and having an axis generally parallel to that of the lower roll, said trough being swingable on said bearing between the operating position and a lacing position therebeneath.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 in which the rolls project axially from the back to the front of the apparatus and the trough has a side wall and a front wall and is secured to a sleeve which is axially slidable on the pivotal bearing, means is provided for limiting the downward swing of the trough on its pivotal axis to prevent any overflowing of the liquid therein over the side wall of the trough, and the front wall of the trough has an arcuate upper edge which, in the lower position of the trough, clears the periphery of the bottom roll whereby to permit axial shifting of the trough in its lower position.

3. Apparatus in accordance with claim 2 in wh ch a plurality of ridges are provided on the inside of the bottom wall of the trough, said ridges being disposed in planes approximately at right angles to the axis of the lower roll.

4. Apparatus in accordance with claim 2 in which the trough has a feeding chamber adjacent the pivotal bearing, means is provided for delivering liquid to the feeding chamber, and the bottom of the trough has an arcuate inside surface.

5. Apparatus in accordance with claim 4 in which the last mentioned means comprises a conduit extending through the pivotal bearing and the trough has a part slidably and rotatably engaging the bearing, said part having an opening which allows passage of liquid from the conduit to the feeding chamber irrespective of the position of the trough between its foremost operating position and its retracted lacing position.

6. Apparatus in accordance with claim 4 in which the pivotal bearing has a central liquid-feeding conduit terminating in a lateral discharge opening, the trough has a co-operating sleeve slidably and rotatably engaging the bearing, and there is a slot in the sleeve above the feeding chamber for allowing free passage of liquid from the discharge opening through the sleeve to the feeding chamber.

7. Apparatus in accordance with claim 6 in which the feeding chamber extends alongside the trough adjacent the front wall thereof and has a discharge opening into the trough at the front end of the trough.

8. Apparatus in accordance with claim 7 in which a plurality of ridges are provided on the inside of the bottom Wall of the trough, said ridges being disposed in planes approximately at right angles to the axis of the lower roll.

9. Apparatus in accordance with claim 7 in which a wiper bar rests lightly against the material on the lower roll, at a portion thereof outside the liquid bath in the trough where the material is leaving the bath.

10. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 in which the upper roll is fluted and the lower roll is smooth.

11. Apparatus in accordance with claim 2 comprising a roll resiliently urged toward the lower roll against the material adjacent its position of departure from the lower roll.

12. Apparatus in accordance with claim 8 in which the upper roll is fluted and the lower roll is smooth, comprising guard means around the upper roll.

(References on following page) References Cited in the file of this patent Number UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Kohlrausch Mar. 21, 1893 5 Rowe Feb. 9, 1897 Palmer Mar. 27, 1906 Biach Dec. 28, 1920 Neidich May 3, 1927 Forrest Feb. 15, 1938 10 Milne Nov. 10, 1942 Number 8 Name Date Kornegg Jan. 19, 1943 MacLaurin Aug. 10, 1943 Moritz et a1. Apr. 18, 1944 Polak May 9, 1944 Nauman Feb. 25, 1947 Furness May 17, 1949 Ewing Sept. 13, 1949 Kuljian Apr. 18, 1950 Elvin Apr. 25, 1950 

